The International Festival of Childhood and Youth Film of Sousse (Fifej) is reborn after a long break of almost six years. The 14th edition will be held from April 8 to 12, 2025, promising a large -scale cinematographic event with the participation of 22 countries.
The opening ceremony will be marked by the projection of the documentary Matula of Abdallah Yahia. The official competition, which highlights 11 feature films and 9 shorts, will be judged by a jury composed of the Iraqi critic Abdel Hussein Chaabane, of the Rwandan filmmaker Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo, of the French director Julie Caty, of the Moroccan academic Azzedine Gourirane and the director of Tunisian photography Maghrai.
A novelty of this edition is the creation of a competition dedicated to young directors under the age of 30, which will present 28 short films. The jury of this category will be made up of the Tunisian actor Khaled Bouzid, the Syrian director Muhannad Kulthum and the expert in culture and communication Manuela Vetter Nicolleti, of Iceco.
In collaboration with the Tunisian Cinémathèque, the festival will also offer a special selection for children. Among the other highlights, the projection of the zero line, a compilation of 22 short films made in 2024 by Gaza filmmakers, led by Rashid Masharawi. This 100 -minute program documents the brutality of the Israeli occupation against Gaza since October 2023.
The Fifej will also pay tribute to the martyrs of April 9, 1938, with the screening of La Fontaine (Ennafoura), a film by Salma Baccar, thus marking the 87th anniversary of the tragic events of the “Festival of Martyrs”.
The projections will take place in several emblematic places of Sousse, including the municipal theater, the Maison de la culture de Kalaa Sghira, the Maison de la culture de Hammam Sousse and the traveling cinema “Cinématdour”.
Created in 1991, Fifej is one of the most important festivals dedicated to cinema for childhood and youth in the Arab world. After an interruption due to the Pandemic of Covid-19 and to financial difficulties, this 14th edition marks an ambitious return, with the objective of restoring the festival its place on the national and international cinematic scene.
